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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. court — of law
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rule — government
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — a box
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com